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Lot description
Richard Cosway, RA, British 1742-1821- Portrait of a lady, standing three-quarter length, lifting a veil with one hand, the other resting on a ledge; black chalk heightened with touches of red chalk and watercolor on paper laid down on card, bears various inscriptions to the mount reading ‘AM. Johnes.’ (lower left), ‘by R. Cosway. / 1807[?]’ (lower right), and 'Anna Maria Johnes drawn by R. Cosway / 1807' verso, 20.6 x 15.5 cm. (unframed). Provenance: Property from the Kagan Collection, Christie's, New York, 28 January 2022, lot 59 ($5,250). Note: King George IV, as Prince of Wales, was Richard Cosway’s chief patron, and his favour won the artist numerous important commissions from the Royal family and the British aristocracy. Cosway was held in such high esteem by the Prince of Wales that he was granted the title 'Primarius Pictor Serenissimi Walliae Principis' (Principal Painter to his Royal Highness the Prince of Wales) in 1785, and was the artistic advisor for the decorative scheme at Carlton House, even painting the ceiling of the Grand Salon. He was Surveyor of George IV’s picture collection, sourcing paintings from auction houses and dealers. George IV commissioned around fifty portrait miniatures from the artist, which he presented as gifts to members of his family, friends, mistresses and even his secret and illegal wife, Maria Fitzherbert. The sitter of the present work has been variously identified as Anna Maria Johnes (1742-1821), and as the artist's wife, Maria Cosway (1760-1838). Impassioned by Classical Antiquity, Jonathan Kagan was drawn to the Neoclassical art created by artists across Europe from circa 1740–1820, who reinterpreted subjects from Roman and Greek history and mythology according to contemporary political themes. Kagan’s collection began with ancient coins and grew to incorporate paintings, sculpture and drawings from the Neoclassical period.